Julmir Stormsbane
Julmir Stormsbane is the current Chieftain of the Highfist Clan, a title he has maintained for nearly a decade. History The early years of Julmir’s life are unimportant, filled with insignificant events from an insignificant family of freefolk. His father was a hunter in the lands of the Highfist Clan, his mother stolen from the folk of the Stonehead Tribe. Of his five siblings, he is the oldest of the surviving three. Julmir’s true life started when he reached the age of twelve, upon a hunt for white-tailed elk within the western region of the haunted forest. He was not the most capable tracker, or hunter, nor the most skilled with his bow or spear, but he had demanded to attend nonetheless, a stubborn sense of authority that has lingered with him ever since. Unsurprisingly, it was not Julmir that felled the elk in the end, but soon enough the small hunting party was returning back to the combe that his clansman resided within, sharing the cave with near thirty others. Whether it was the scent of the kill, or the sound of the young hunters revelling their catch that brought the white bear is only for the Old Gods of the Sky and Stone to know, but the beast set upon them nonetheless. Near all of the party was slaughtered in the brief, brutal minutes that followed, and Julmir, knowing himself largely incapable of making any meaningful impact, sought the hidden shelter of a hollowing beneath a broad-rooted sentinel tree. He waited a good hour before emerging once the sounds of bloodshed has ended, finding the pale snow streaked with carmine and scarlet from both man and beast. Almost instinctively, he began to prepare a poultice of fern-leaf and darkroot for the shivering figure of Svanra, whose chest had been torn asunder by the bear’s vicious claws. His hands shaking as recalled the Chosen’s teachings of basic healing, he weaved the mix of chewed foliage and clay into her torn skin, before half-lifting, half-dragging her to the burrow he had found earlier. The pair remained there for near a week, Julmir foraging berries and sweetbark to sustain them, protecting her from chills with furs and his own warmth as she healed. Once she had strength to survive the journey the pair started once again on the journey home, and once her vigour had returned fully, it was more than warmth that they shared beneath the furs. Vows were shared before a weirwood in the presence of their tribe’s Chosen, the wearied spearwife Hilne, whose fire-touched hair had faded to pale grey with the years. A few years later, the tribe fractured in three following argument and disagreement regarding how best to survive the increasingly frequent blizzards and ice storms that ravaged the lands in which they hunted and resided. Julmir and Svanra were amongst those travelled to join with the Highfist Clan proper, in the deep caves of the mountain gorges of Skirling’s Pass, west of the Fist of the First Men. The journey took nearly a moon, and cost the life of Sykregg, their youngest. Life at the southern edge of the Frostfangs proved to be more stable in near every regard, barring one. Tired of the repeated raids on his tribesmen by the Stormwolf Tribe, a freefolk group numbering near one thousand who resided in the valleys on the southeastern edge of the Frostfangs, Julmir sought action, but knew that a direct strike would seek to serve little than death to both sides. Whilst he could not care less about the survival of the Stormwolves, he sought to preserve the life of those that he called brother and sister. As such, he sought a different means to manage the threat, analysing the situation presented, before settling on an alternative tactical approach. He proposed lighting fires around and beneath the glaciers and great snow drifts that created the valleys in which the rival Tribe resided, seeking to filled the dale with a sudden avalanche of snow and ice. Through stubborn persistence, he persuaded the Chieftain to allow him five hundred men to carry out his plan. Whilst nearly two hundred of his warriors were killed in the resulting snowslide, the strength of the Stormwolf Tribe had been quenched, and he took the title given to him as his name. Stormsbane. When he immediately stated a claim to the position of Chief, the few that carried enough to oppose him were brushed aside by the new support he had acquired. Once the chill winds and hoarfrost had subsided, at least in part, Julmir sought to move the clan east, into the Haunted Forest, where food was more readily available, and the worst of the gales were buffeted by the trees. Thus far, it has proven to be a sound decision, but the presence of the Red Paw Tribe to the north, and the Ravenwatch to the south. Timeline * 249AC - Julmir is born. * 261AC - When a hunting trip goes awry, Julmir and Svarna are the only survivors. * 261AC - Julmir and Svarna are wed through the traditional rituals of their people. * 265AC - Julmir, Svarna, and their children Gragni and Sykregg leave for Skirling’s Pass. * 271AC - Julmir brings destruction to the Stormwolf Tribe, and is dubbed Stormsbane. He stakes his claim for Chiefdom of the Highfists. * 273AC - The Highfist Clan starts to spread throughout the lands east and south of the Fist of the First Men. * 274AC - Tyroshi slavers land upon the coastline of the Haunted Forest, attempting to steal away tribesmen as they fish for black salmon, grey skate and icefish in the Shivering Sea. Julmir Stormsbane acquires armour from a mercenary killed in the clash. * 274AC - Present - Julmir and his tribesmen have sought to construct a village in the Haunted Forest, centered around an abandoned feasthall known as the Frozen Hearth. Supporting Characters and Family * Svanra - (Spear)wife - 33 - Clever * Gragni - Son - 18 - Authorative * Hilne - Shaman - 63 - Vitality * Grunkar - Warrior - 31 - Martially Adept * Loklaf - Scout - 19 - Agility Category:Freefolk Category:Beyond the Wall